Defiance
by Bewarethedarkness
Summary: Everyone always writes about Leon chasing after D once he leaves, but what if it was the other way around? What if D decided that Leon and Chris were going to come with him, and they didn’t have a choice in the matter? WARNING - Some bad language.
1. Chapter 1

**Defiance**

**Summary**

_Everyone always writes about Leon chasing after D once he leaves, but what if it was the other way around? What if D decided that Leon and Chris were going to come with him, and they didn't have a choice in the matter?_

It was raining.

Leon sighed and lit a cigarette. He'd cut down recently, but it'd been so stressful today that he needed one badly.

"Heard you're the one on the Matterson Estate case," called a voice.

Leon looked up. Detective Price, one of the forensics team, was standing in front of him, a cigarette dangling from his own mouth.

"Yeah," said Leon. "What about it?"  
"I got some of the results back, need to go through 'em with you once you got a moment." The other detective responded. "Kinda weird results. Your kind of territory, if you don't mind me sayin'."

Leon nodded.  
"I gotta eat first, then I'll find you. This is my first break all day." He added apologetically.

Price shrugged.  
"You do what you gotta. I got lumped with the double shift, so believe me, unless something worse than a multiple homicide happens, I'll be around. Later, Orcot." With that, he gave a small wave and left, stubbing out his dying cigarette stub before entering the precinct once more.

Leon sighed. He could have gone back in and spoken with the other detective; who knew, maybe this was the break they'd been searching for. But he needed to take some time first, because Price reminded him way too much of D.

The two weren't dead ringers or anything like that, but Price had a Japanese mother, and his eyes were a freaky shade of blue-grey that shone purple in some lights. His soft spoken manner and understated intelligence were two other big reminders. Also, his cutting sarcasm when irritated.

_D..._

Leon frowned and shook his head. That way laid dangerous thoughts. Depressing ones. Yes, D's sudden departure had been a nasty shock, and if he was honest, had hurt a little. In spite of the way the two acted around one another, he'd thought they were friends.

He'd thought he'd at least be considered worthy of a goodbye.

He shook his head again. _Man up, Orcot!_ He thought angrily. He'd gotten everything together after the shock of D leaving and Chris being taken away by his so called family... He frowned. That was another area he had no desire to go into. The custody battle for his brother had NOT been pretty, and he was now pretty much ostracised from the remains of his family.

_Just me and Chris, against the world._

_------_

_Ok, this is just me testing the water in another category, seeing as all my stuff so far has been Yugioh GX. Tell me what you think, if you please!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed before, sorry for keeping you waiting. I had a real moment of writer's block, and had to go back and completely rewrite this whole chapter.**

**Without further ado, here is Chapter 2!**

**Defiance Chapter 2**

Leon was drunk.

Chris was staying at a friend's house, since Leon was working a very long shift. The Matterson Estate Murders were still unsolved, and now there had been another killing, just as brutal, nearby.

Eventually, the chief of police had _ordered _anyone who had been working more than 12 hours to go home and rest. Leon was one of the many who qualified, and also one of the many who objected.

In the station locker room, he rested his head against the door of his locker and groaned. Staying awake for over thirty hours straight had meant he would now find it impossible to sleep.

"Ugh. I need a drink."

Leon looked up. Price had just entered, looking as bad as Leon felt. The comment was the other detective thinking out loud, but it gave Leon an opportunity to put off lying in bed unable to sleep for at least an hour.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked. "Chief just threw me out."

"Same," said Price with a nod. "Sure, I know a good bar around the corner. I need something strong to get those crime scene photos out of my head."

"I don't get why the chief made us go." said Leon. "We're the two main guys on the case, aren't we?"

"We are, but we've been working for the best part of two days without any real breaks. Besides, this guy's a psycho, and I don't know about you, but I want to be able to shoot to kill when we find him." replied Price. He saw Leon's surprised look. "What? I have the same thoughts as everyone else in this office. Whoever did this is one sick puppy. They need to be stopped."

The two had headed to the bar, and proceeded to drink heavily for over an hour. After a while, Leon had found himself talking about anything and everything – his family, his work, parts of the city and more. It almost seemed inevitable that they would eventually reach the subject of D.

"The whole department thinks I'm crazy." Leon had concluded, laughing, having told Price the story of D's evil multiplying rabbits, which had happened while the other detective had been working in New York. "Hell, maybe I _am_ crazy."

"You're not crazy." Price protested, delicately sipping his sixth whiskey. "You just see things that others can't."

Leon blinked, looking at him. Even through the alcohol induced haze, this statement felt odd, out of place, and yet not unwelcome.

"What?"

"I may not live in Chinatown, but I know about D. I know about his 'pets' if you could call them that."

Finishing his drink, Price got up, signed his tab, and left. Leon followed, stumbling slightly and catching sight of Price's signature. "K. Price."

"Hey, hey, Price, wait up!" Leon called, and Price stopped, turning and waiting for him. "What's the K stand for anyway?"  
"Kin." said Price, with a small grimace. "I'm not exactly fond of it, so most people call me Price."  
"Kin?" asked Leon with a slight frown.  
"It's Japanese." Price explained. "Means 'golden'. My mother insisted on it, while my sisters got Western names, lucky them."

"You still see your mother?" asked Leon.  
"Oh, occasionally." said Price with a small smile, gazing up at the sky. "She travels a lot though."

"Do you miss her?" asked Leon.  
"A little. Do you miss your mother?" asked Price.

"Hey, how do you...?" asked Leon, confused.

Price smirked.  
"I can feel it. Your loneliness and confusion when she left you so suddenly... feelings mirrored by your abandonment by D..."

"How do you know about that?!" Leon demanded.

"Do you think that D is the only supernatural creature that dwells within this city?" asked Price.

"What are you talking about Price?" Leon asked, confused. "D left the city."

"Maybe, but it still stinks of his influence." replied Price, still looking up towards the sky. "The air still reeks of blood."

"What are you?" asked Leon.

Price smiled.

"You might be able to see what others can't, but you can't see me – the real me. Not yet. Not until I want you to. For now, it's probably better you don't know. But I will tell you this: I am your ally. Your friend if you so wish." After stating this, Price started to walk away, only to pause and glance back at Leon. "I'll talk to the chief in the morning; try to convince him to let us back into the station. Night, Orcot."

Both men walked to their respective houses. When Kin Price arrived home, he took a moment to admire the moon through his window. His back was to the door when he heard it open and spun around. A blur knocked him over and then attempted to pin him to the floor. Price responded by thrashing, scratching and spitting like a cat, finally throwing off his assailant. As the moon caught his attacker, he growled, a deep sound no human could make.

"Totetsu!" he snarled.

"Good evening, Kin." rang out another voice. "You've been rather... chatty... recently, haven't you?"

Kin froze, anger temporarily giving way to fear, before a look of pure and utter loathing took over. He staggered to his feet painfully, clutching a gash in his side.

"D..."

**Dun dun dun! D's back!  
I hesitated for a while about flesshing out Price's character (he was originally just going to have a small role as the Detective helping Leon solve the Matterson Estate Murders), so please, tell me what you think of him.**

**Also, can anyone guess what he is? It's not very obvious here, but there will be more hints in the next chapter.**

**Anyone who guesses will get a cameo as a pet or a customer!**

**You know what to do, please read and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Defiance Chapter 3**

**Hello everyone! I'm back with a new chapter!**

**Without further ado, here we go!**

Kin was furious.

"How dare you walk in here like you own the place!" he snarled at D. "I have every right to claim penance from you... and you know my unusual tastes..."

His sneer was an attempt to hide the fact that he was more than a little scared. D was a dangerous individual, and unpredictable.

"Now, now," D chided him. "I thought you were 'different to the rest of your kind'".

Kin winced at the reminder of what he had told the pet shop owner.

"I am." he snapped. "But I still need to live. But you can't exactly play the saint, you fucking hypocrite."

D winced.

"A creature of your grace and elegance, using common vulgar human terms. And to me, no less."

"I will do whatever I wish. Why do you care, anyway? I'm just the pack's runt, denying my heritage, living among the human filth, or so they all tell me on the rare occasion I see them." Kin frowned, crossing his arms.

"I have come to repeat the generous offer I made you a year ago." said D.

"To become a pet in your shop?" Kin mocked him. "And I thought my pack couldn't think lower of me. To become your toy? I'd rather die."

"That may not be so far away." D murmured.

Kin looked at him.  
"Is that a threat, D?"

"No," said D, "merely a statement. You should know this already, you work alongside the police, but a few of your brothers have moved into the city to hunt."

There was an awkward pause.

"I know." Kin admitted. "I could tell the second the entered the city, even before one sought me out. They've been quiet so far though."

"That will not be the case for much longer." said D. "And when they reveal themselves, you will no doubt be caught up in the human panic and uproar."

Kin paused. D was over exaggerating, hoping that he would get scared and seek shelter with him, the way so many others had. Predators reduced to pets... Kin would rather die than spend the rest of his life in D's gilded cage.

"Wait..." he said, as a thought occurred to him. "I thought this city got too hot for you and you skipped over to China?"

"I did," D replied, smoothing the sleeves of his outfit. "But I have unfinished business that could not be left much longer."

"Unfinished business?" asked Kin. Then it hit him. "Orcot."

"Yes," D nodded with a cold smile. "I once believed that all humans were entirely the same: greedy, scrambling to survive and committed only to the destruction of the planet, and I treated them all as such."

"What a nice, balanced view." Kin muttered. "But Leon made you see differently, I'm guessing? Knocked your whole little theory right on its ass."

"Yes," D admitted, only wincing slightly at Kin's language. "He is better than most humans, almost completely unique. He deserves more than this fetid world can offer."

There was a pause, and then Kin worked it out.

"You want to make him a pet as well." he stated in a dull, slightly shocked voice. "You want to make a human pet." He shook his head. "Well D, I can officially say that you have LOST YOUR MIND!"

T-chan growled in warning, and Kin snapped back a non-verbal warning of his own.

"I disagree." said D. "Leon and his brother are strong, better souls than most of human society combined. If they remain among humans, they will become as weak and corrupted as all the others. I had quite the revelation you know. At first I thought that the answer was to simple wipe out all the fools who bought my pets and broke their contracts –"

"But for every fool that did, another kept to it and found peace or redemption." interrupted Kin. "Your plan was failing."

"And so, I came up with another." continued D, ignoring the interruption. "To select the few strong, pure or worthy humans among the masses and take them away from this world of filth."

"And to hell with what they want or think, huh?" demanded Kin.

"They will understand in time." responded D.

Kin had to resist the urge to claw at the other creature's face, to gouge out his eyes and tear his poisonous tongue from his smug mouth. He could feel his nails change, pointed claws pressing out from under human nails, and his teeth sharpen. Trying to soothe his nerves, he ran his tongue along the newly sharp teeth and was concerned at the rasping sound it made.  
D noticed, of course.

"Your glamour is beginning to fail." he said, feigning concern. "When was the last time you fed?"

Kin gritted his teeth, careful to avoid his tongue.

"That's none of your concern." he said, but even as he spoke, his mind was racing. D was right, damn him. As much as Kin hated doing so, he needed to hunt. "I think you should leave."

"As you wish." said D, with a smile that told Kin this wasn't close to being over. "T-chan, let's take our leave."

Kin waited until he was certain they were gone, then fell to the floor, clutching his head in despair. This was bad, really bad. He needed to warn Leon. One hand thoughtfully went to his mouth, feeling the sandpaper texture of his tongue. He needed to sort out this problem soon too. His own specific form of sustenance wasn't something he could order or buy. He'd have to go to the hospital, or the police cells, and soon. The fact that the gloom of the unlit room was getting clearer meant his eyes were changing back too. He had 24 hours, maybe a little more, and he had a sinking feeling that D would take actions to make feeding even harder than usual. Great.  
He stood up and sighed as he checked the locks on his door and window. He was exhausted, and he needed to see Leon in the morning. Not to mention that there was still a murderer out there who needed to be caught.  
He'd sleep until sunrise and then get to work.

Kin had crawled into bed, only to be woken five hours later (but the sun was starting to rise, so it wasn't too bad) by a phone call from Jill, Leon's partner.  
"Leon needs you to get down here as soon as you can." she said hurriedly. "It's important."

"Did we get a Matterson lead?" asked Kin, trying to shake some sense into his head.

There was a pause.

"No." said Jill. There was an odd noise, and Kin realised with a start that the woman was crying. "Oh God... It's Chris. He was at a friend's house last night, and this morning, his friend's mother went to wake them up, and... he was gone. The other kid was traumatised..."

"Couldn't he have, sleepwalked or something?" Kin demanded, trying to ignore the knot of panic rising in his stomach.

"No, there's no way. But the window was broken open and there was signs of a struggle. Oh God, Price, he's missing. Someone took him."

**Dun dun dun! Cliffy!**

**Oh, my, I wonder who could have taken Chris?**

**Right, I was originally going to do a bit here, answering questions and giving hints on Kin, but due to a fantastic amount of responses, I'm going to give it its own chapter, which should be up very very soon, so wait and see!**

**Reviews make for a happy writer!**


	4. Clue and Answers

**Hello everyone.**

**As I said in the last chapter, response to Chapter 2 was fantastic!**

**This first part is answering questions of people who reviewed, but reading it may give others some clues.**

**Ok, let's go.**

**Answers to Questions:**

**shinobinaraku: Kin is a completely new character of my creation. I can also guarantee that no other character has been of this species in the PSoH series.**

**anime55: I'm afraid you are wrong, Price is not a Kirin.**

**Vampyra142001: You're right that he's not a Kirin or Dragon. And 'Kin' actually refers to a part of his appearance that has yet to be revealed.**

**CharlieKhakiDragon: He's not a vampire or a were, but you are right about the glamour.**

**Sony Boy: As you can see in Ch3, Jill is still in this story. Leon and Price are working together because Price is part of the forensics team, so he can provide knowledge that Jill can't. **

**Hints on Kin (Some of these hints may count as spoilers, so if you want to be completely surprised, DO NOT READ).**

**There are mentions of Kin's species in history, but they are in literature, not mythology.**

**There is a short manga series based on these creatures (completely separate from PSoH)**

**The "unique diet" mentioned in the last chapter is VERY important. But, to anyone making a guess, no, it isn't blood, or human flesh.**

**All members of this species can transform into one animal, which depends on their personality. Kin's animal is feline, hence the claws, teeth and tongue.**

**Kin is considered the "runt of the pack" because he acts differently to most of his kind. The others generally range from mildly sociopathic to just plain evil.**

**Hopefully this will help people a bit more.**

**If not, I'll release some more clues next time.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone, I'm back!**

**Sorry about the delay, I had to rewrite this a couple of times. I'm still not 100% happy with it, but here we go.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed!**

**Defiance Chapter 4**

Leon was frantic.

He was pacing the room, the room his baby brother had disappeared from. The other officers were watching him, concerned – he was well known, and liked, so this case was personal for everyone present. But the facts didn't add up.

There had been a struggle, but the child sleeping in the other bed hadn't heard anything, hadn't even woken up.

The window of the room hadn't been open the night before, in fact it had been locked and bolted from the inside, and yet when Chris's friend Michael had woken up, the window had been open, yet untouched.

Several of Chris's things had been taken from the kitchen, but there were no footprints in the hallway, no fingerprints on doors that would have had to be opened.

Leon had to suppress a growl under his breath. They'd dealt with the truly bizarre before, but this was something else.

He was knocked out of his thoughts by the sound of the door opening and closing again. Price entered, still wearing dark sunglasses and looking as crap as Leon felt.

"Jill called me." the other detective said simply. "She's manning the phones at the office."

"Thanks." said Leon with true sincerity. "What do you know?"

"I got the file en route." said Price. "Michael Rose wakes up, Chris is gone, window is open. The fact that whoever did this took some of Chris's things means that they knew who they were going for, where they'd be and when to strike. This was planned, which is always a pleasant thought."

"Yeah," said Leon, nodding grimly. "That sums it up."

Price glanced around, saw that no-one was listening and leaned closer.

"We have another problem, and I get the feeling the two are connected." he said in a low voice.

"What are you talking about?" asked Leon, confused.

"D is back." said Price simply.

"What?!" exclaimed Leon in a low voice, still aware of the other officers milling around. "When?"

"I don't know." admitted Price. "I saw him last might; he paid me an unwelcome visit. But it seems to me a little too much of a coincidence that Chris disappears the day after he turns back up."

"You think D kidnapped my brother?" asked Leon, incredulous.

"When he came to me last night, he was... well, he said... things. Regarding you, and Chris. And me, actually. So... yeah. I do."

"Why would D do that? To hell with that, why would Chris fight him?"

"That's the thing; what if D staged the struggle? The window doesn't have a mark on it. Almost as if-"

"As if the window was opened from the inside." Leon completed.

"D gets Chris to open the window, sends in a 'pet' to get his things... explains the lack of human prints. The Roses have pets themselves, so paw prints wouldn't seem out of place." continued Price.

"But still – why? Why would D snatch Chris?" asked Leon.

"He's gone off the deep end this time Leon." said Price in a low voice. "Completely and utterly. I think he planned all of this. He visits me and then takes Chris so that we connect the dots and follow, like good little boys."

"Ok, I get why he'd go after _you_," said Leon, "Since we've already established you're not human, but what about me and Chris? D was always so..."

"Yeah, I know." said Price. "I'm just looking at the pieces and telling you how I see them. There's an easy way prove or disprove this: we go to Chinatown."

.

Both detectives could tell something had changed in Chinatown the second they set foot down the street where D's shop had once stood. The air was thick with tension, and other shopkeepers stood half hidden in their doorways as the two passed.

Price was still wearing his dark sunglasses, even though the worst of the midday sun was hidden behind thick clouds. He was also wearing a heavy coat and leather gloves, and seemed to get twitchier by the minute.

"Does D really put you on edge this much?" asked Leon, glancing back at him.

"It's not just him, but he's a part of it." replied Price. "Let's see if anyone's home."  
With a little more force than was absolutely necessary, they slammed open the door.

"Knock knock, anyone home?" said Leon.

"D?" called Price.

They waited, but there was no reply. Just when Price was about to turn around, there was a loud growl and an all too familiar totetsu leapt out at them.

They got lucky; T-chan disliked them both greatly, so he was indecisive about who to attack first. By the time he decided Leon was the better target, both detectives had their guns ready and pointed in his direction.

"Don't do it Totetsu." Price warned. "We're both in a foul mood and we would shoot your ass here and now. Where's D?"

"Long gone." said T-chan with a growl.

Price paused, suddenly wondering if Leon could understand the tiger-goat creature. His question was soon answered.

"Where's Chris?" Leon demanded.

"With D." said T-chan smugly.

Price had to grab Leon's shoulder so he didn't attack the Totetsu.

"Save your bullets." he hissed. "I doubt D would leave ONE guard."

Growls from the shadows confirmed this – even through his glasses, Price could make out the forms of several dangerous animals. He quickly calculated. One slide already loaded, one more in his pocket and one more in his bag. Too many animals and possibilities of missing – if he used his six bullets here, he wouldn't be able to reload fast enough.

And if he couldn't, Leon sure as hell couldn't.

"We're outnumbered." said Leon, echoing his thoughts.

"I'd advise-" started Price, before a sharp pain in his abdomen caused him to gasp and double over. He only just kept hold of his gun.

"Your glamour is fading, _Kin._" mocked T-chan.

Price snarled at him, revealing teeth too sharp for a human mouth.

"I need to get out of here Leon, and you can't take them all. A tactical retreat's our best option." he spat out after a pause.

Leon nodded.

"Tell D I want my brother back. If I have to come back here, I will end all of you, even if it kills me."

He looped his arm around Price's back and half dragged him out to the car. Once the other detective was seated, he started the engine mainly to fill the awkward silence.

"What do you need?" he asked at last.

"It's complicated." said Price. "I need two things. First, I need you to get me to the holding cells of the precinct. Second, I need you to not ask questions. Time's not on our side at all. Sooner you do that, sooner I can help you get your brother back."

Leon nodded, and drove.

It'd taken a while to convince Leon to let him make his own way to the car; too long. Kin didn't have much time left. He grabbed a file on route, flicked through it and smiled. This one would do nicely.

"Greg Westwood. We meet again." he said, sauntering into the holding area. "Another rape? And I thought you could sink no lower."

"Shove it Price." sneered the man behind the bars. "It won't stick, just like the others. My lawyer is posting bail as we speak."

"Ah, but this must be so _inconvenient_ for you," Kin purred. "All that bad PR – how much longer can you convince everyone that it's all a big misunderstanding?"

Westwood faltered.

"What's your point?" he demanded.

"I can get you out of here for good." said Kin, wrapping both hands around the bars between them. "And I personally guarantee you will never set foot in these cells ever again."

"Yeah?" said the man greedily. "Guess I was wrong about you, Price. You're not half the idiot I thought you were. Name your price."

"What would you pay?" asked Price.

"To get the pigs off my back? Anything. You name it, it's yours, Price."

Price smiled, taking off his glasses to reveal eyes that had changed from purple-blue to haunting gold, with slit, cats-eye pupils. With a smirk, he spoke the word that damned the man in the cell.

"Deal."

His eyes flashed, and then the area was filled with screams. Price was grateful that the area was so deserted, thanks to budget cuts and understaffing. No one was around to hear this.

When he was done, Westwood slumped to the floor, eyes wide and unseeing, breathing ragged, and Kin leant against the wall, enjoying the rush that came with feeding. It was delicious to the point of addictive, and he understood why his people loved it so much. But he wasn't like them, so he would not allow himself to indulge the way they did.

"I said I'd get you out Westwood, I didn't say how I'd do it. Thanks for the boost." He laughed slightly, his darker side in control briefly as he leaned against the bars again. "Several birds with one stone. I've erased you as a future threat, I've erased ME as a future threat, and now I'm strong enough to deal with D." He sighed. "I know you can't hear me, which makes you perfect to vent to. Y'know, my race usually prefers the souls of the innocent, but I find there is such a feeling of _justice_ in taking the souls of scum like you. Probably my upbringing and my career." he smirked. "Sorry to cut our chat short, but I have a child to save. You wouldn't understand."

He left hurriedly. He hadn't opened the cell or physically touched Westwood, but sooner or later the comatose man would be found; the more people who saw him, the more implicated he could potentially become. He stopped in the men's room to check that his glamour was back in place.

Claws? Gone.

Eyes? Back to blue.

Teeth? Human and blunt, in appearance at least.

Tongue? Smooth once more.

Good.

.

Kin met up with Leon a few hours later, back in the car. He was holding an envelope.

"I called in a favour with a friend who works the graveyard shift on the CCTV crew near the shipyard." He passed the envelope to Leon, who opened it to find a blurry CCTV image of a tall dark-haired figure and a small blonde child. "What do you think?"

"It could be them." agreed Leon, but he seemed distracted.

They drove in silence, but when they were a few minutes from the docks, Leon suddenly pulled over and stopped the car.

"What are you doing?" asked Price.

"I know you asked me not to ask questions, but I have to ask this: what did you do to Greg Westwood?" he asked in a serious tone.

Price sighed.

"No fooling you, is there Leon?" he said, smiling grimly.

"You enter the precinct, you can barely walk straight. You leave, looking like a million dollars. Within ten minutes, Westwood is found unconscious and has to be rushed to hospital. He's in a coma, Price!" Leon gripped the back of his seat.

"Fine," said Price. "I'll tell you. Everything. But start the car again; we need to find D – and your brother. And believe me, regardless of what you may think of me once I've told you what you want to know, you WILL need me to best D."

----

**Ok, listen up!**

**Next chapter is the big reveal of exactly WHAT Kin Price is. There's some more clues in this chapter, but you will know for certain next chapter!**

**Reviews always help with inspiration!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, sorry about the delay. Hope this is worth the wait!**

**Defiance Chapter 5**

The car was silent.

Price was consumed in his thoughts, a dark expression on his face; Leon guessed he was thinking of the best explanation, and that it wasn't an easy story.

"How much did D tell you about himself?" Asked Price abruptly, after a few minutes.

"Next to nothing." replied Leon, eyes focused on the road and the car in front.

"Damn." said Price.

"Does it matter?"

"Not really. I mainly wanted to use him and his as a means of comparison. Never mind, just tell me if something needs to be explained to you."

"Ok..." said Leon cautiously, starting to wonder if he would be happier leaving Price's mysteries unsolved.

There was a short pause. Leon glanced at Price and saw that he was staring into the distance, mouth drawn into a tight line.

"My people are an ancient race, older even than D's. They are not a nice group. I am a very, VERY rare exception to the rule.*

He looked at Leon, who nodded.

"They're called the Alichino." he continued. "An Alichino is... a type of demon. Alichino is the old human term from when people believed in us – I can't recall what language the name comes from, but it means "Soul Stealer". That sums up a lot very fast, I'm sure."

"That's what you did to Westwood." said Leon.

It wasn't a question, but Price nodded anyway.

"I don't like having to do it, but trust me, if I didn't, the consequences would be... messy. At least while I'm this way I can make sure the guy deserves it. A lot of my people make a habit... they _enjoy_ hunting the innocent."

"So why are you different?" asked Leon, in a softer tone than Price expected from him, having just found out the truth.

"My mother was an Alichino, my father was human – and before you ask, no, I'm not a half breed. We have a generic quirk; we inherit the relevant genes from only one parent. I could only be one or the other, human or demon."

Leon waited for him to continue.

"It's a 50/50 chance of a child taking after either parent. But I was youngest of three, and my two sisters were both demons."

"So the odds were against you taking after your mother." said Leon.

Price nodded.

"You got it. I don't know if she didn't try very hard to look, or if I honestly appeared human when I was a child, but when I was ten she took off. She took my two sisters and left me with my father."

"Harsh." Leon commented.

"Not to her. Her entire aim while with him was to reproduce. Another thing is that 9 out of 10 Alichino are female, so they have to often use humans to procreate. I think that partially the fact that I was male was the reason she didn't watch me very closely when I was younger."

"So... she leaves, and the reason we're having this conversation is because you're NOT human." Leon prompted him after a pause.

"She returned when I was 18. Briefly. I recognised her instantly – she hadn't aged at all in 8 years. And the demon in me was rising – it had been held back by a combination of ignorance and my father's influence; he was a good man. She saw what I was, what I was becoming, what I could become."

"You've lost me."

"Ever heard the old argument 'nature versus nurture'?" asked Price. Leon nodded. "Alichinos are born to steal souls, it's our sustenance. But I had been raised to recognise right and wrong, and that I couldn't just take souls when I needed them. I was, if such thing was possible, becoming a 'good demon'. My mother was displeased. She wanted me to come with her, learn her ways, the same things she had taught my sisters. I refused."

"I'm sure that went down well."

"Oh, it did." said Price, with a sarcastic smile. "She was unhappy. She tried to drag me away. When that failed she returned with my sisters. When that failed she returned with others from her..." he paused for a moment, struggling. "Pack? Coven? Family? I'm sorry, it doesn't translate well into English."

"I get the idea." Leon reassured him.

"Eventually we came to an impasse of sorts. The leader of the group thought very little of me and he agreed to allow me to remain away from the others as long as I didn't draw attention to them. My mother was not pleased, but she had to obey him. He did me a favour of sorts – gave me a title that ensured I'd be left alone."

"What was it?"

"Runt." said Price, studiously staring straight ahead. "Runt of the litter."

"Uh, I'm guessing that's offensive?"

"It can also be translated to 'should have been drowned at birth'".

"Ouch."

"I haven't seen my mother since then. But a few years ago I stumbled across D, who recognised me instantly. Alichino usually stick together for safety – to him, one on their own was like Christmas and Thanksgiving on the same day. Until, of course, I told him where he could shove his offers of "shelter".

Leon paused, trying to approach this as politely as he could.

"And, the soul stealing?"

"I usually average about two a year. All criminals, and all consent to it." He paused. "Sorta." He saw Leon's look of enquiry. "We have another name, one more well know. D'jinn."

"D'jinn... you're a GENIE?"

"Humans have a habit of making explanations for strange things. It's how we steal souls – we offer wishes in return. Usually they are twisted on purpose."

"Westwood?"

"I offered him a way out. I wasn't specific on how."

"That's... messed up."

"He deserved it."

"I'm not denying that, but still. Wow. Remind me not to piss you off."

Price looked at him.

"You're taking this rather well." he commented. "Not that I have informed many of this."

Leon sighed.

"Look, I've worked with you for over five years; we've been friends for a few months..." he quickly glanced at Price, who nodded to confirm that this was the case. "You don't think I'm crazy like most of the precinct, and you agreed to help me find Chris. I can deal with a little Fucked-Up-ness. Kay?"

"Ok." said Price, nodding.

The rest of the drive passed in a more comfortable silence. They reached the docks and parked the car a little out of obvious sight, but close enough if they needed to get out fast. Kin looked up at the ship and shuddered.

"He's here." he said. "I can feel it." He sniffed. "I'm taking a guess, but I think I can smell your brother."

"Smell?" asked Leon.

"Fuck, I knew I forgot something." said Kin. "Each Alichino has an animal... side. It varies from person to person. Mine is a cat. I can see in the dark, I'm fast, I have good senses. That kind of thing."

"A CAT?" snorted Leon, amused in spite of himself.

"A panther actually. I used cat to gauge your reaction."

"Oh." said Leon. Then he shrugged. "Well, gives us a better chance against the Ass-Biter."

Kin snorted and glanced at the ramp up to the boat.

"It's not guarded. I'd call that an invitation." he said.

"I'd call that a trap." said Leon grimly.

"If there's anything waiting for us up there, try to head for cover. And once your clip runs out, trade guns with me – I can reload faster than you. Got it?"

"Got it." said Leon, nodding.

"Who knows, we've not been attacked so far, we might get lucky." said Kin.

Leon laughed.

"I doubt it."

The front deck was empty when the two boarded the boat. It was silent, full of opened and half destroyed crates. Kin examined them, inhaling deeply, to try to indentify creatures they may come across later. Most were innocent enough. The manticore really worried him, but he decided not to mention that to Leon. Try as he might he couldn't get a decisive direction to Chris's scent.

"There is good news and there is bad news." he said to Leon.

"Yeah?"

"The good news is that Chris seems to be well treated. His scent is happy, and it's everywhere, so he'd being allowed to move around."

"Ok. The bad news?"

"His scent is everywhere. I can't track him."

"Damn." said Leon, kicking at a crate in frustration. "Ok, we knew it wouldn't be easy. Can you narrow it down at all?"

Kin frowned, focusing.

"He's not been on deck for a while – a few hours, or there abouts. D must have known we were on our way. I'll see what I can do, if you watch my back."

Leon nodded.

"You got it."

He drew his gun as Kin opened the door carefully. Behind it was a flight of stairs leading to a corridor.

"The light's not great." said Kin. "We'll have to tread carefully. Stay close. Oh, and Leon?"

"Yeah?"

"Try not to shoot me."

Kin put his foot on to the first step, testing its weight before continuing down in near silence. Leon was louder, but it couldn't be helped. He didn't have the supernatural ability that Kin did. Slowly they crept down the corridor, both extremely on edge. Kin inhaled deeply, then swore as he saw another flight of stairs.

"Next level down. I think." he said through gritted teeth.

"I don't like this." said Leon. "We're sitting ducks and there's no way out!"

"That's almost exactly the point." said Kin. Then he froze.

"What?" snapped Leon, but by then he'd felt it too. The boat was _shifting_, new doors appearing, while the stairs they had used to enter the hallway disappeared completely.

"We're trapped." Kin whispered bleakly.

Things only got worse as the doors began to open to reveal animals of every shape and size. What they did have in common was simple: sharp teeth and large claws. Leon raised his gun, but Kin grabbed his free arm.

"We don't stand a chance." he said. "Too many of them, too little space. RUN."

They both took off at breakneck speed, avoiding the animals, who pursued them with a vengeance. More than once Kin glanced back to see one within striking range, but they did not attack.

"They're forcing us in a certain direction!" he gasped to Leon.

"What?"

"They're pushing us – I think that as long as we head in a certain direction they won't attack." explained Kin.

The two slowed down to catch their breath, and sure enough, although the animals surrounded them and growled threateningly, the two remained unscathed.

"Come on." said Kin. "Let's not push our luck."

The two started walking again, giving up on any illusion of stealth, since clearly D knew they were here.

"I hate this." said Leon.

"Likewise." said Kin. He glanced back and noticed that the animals had started to back off. "That cannot be good."

"But they're going." said Leon, confused.

"Law of the wild, Leon. The only reason a predator backs off..."

A door at the end of the hall opened to reveal T-chan, growling and bearing his teeth.

"...is because something bigger and uglier is nearby?" guessed Leon.

Kin nodded, and glanced back. The animals may have backed off, but they were still blocking any retreat.

"Ok." he said, stepping forward slightly. "We're here, we're trapped. You completely have the advantage. But then, if D just wanted us dead, you could have killed us back in the pet shop. It would have been easier – no clean up, you could have just left us to rot. So D wants something from us, right?"

The totetsu growled once more, before nodding. Suddenly he took off at a run, seemingly growing as he charged. Kin could feel the boat shifting again. He glanced back at the worst possible moment and T-chan barrelled into him, throwing him back into the door that had moved to stand behind him. The boat was still shifting, so the door slammed shut before Leon could run through and then shifted to plain wall. It was another minute before the boat returned to normal. Now, Kin knew, he could be anywhere on the boat; the same went for Leon. Kin growled and slammed one fist into the wall. It didn't budge. He stared at his bloody fist and watched his split knuckles quickly closing as he healed.

_Fantastic..._ he thought, turning around. There had to be another door somewhere. He glanced around, but the room was pitch black. After a moment of stubborn deliberation, Kin snapped his fingers and several lanterns in the room burst into flame. Kin sighed, glad he had been paying attention in the hallway to the lighting arrangements.

"So," a voice from one side rang in the small room. "You are not completely without hope after all."

Kin spun around, eyes wide, face disbelieving.

"Mother?"

Leon tried his best to open the door, even opening fire on it several times before realising what a waste of bullets that was. With a grown, he kicked the wall one more time before glancing around. The way the walls had shifted meant he was now in a dead end, with only one possible direction. Slowly he made his way down the hall which opened up to a much larger area. Leon frowned as he looked about the room. It was the spitting image of the front room of the Pet shop, down to the cloying scent of incense in the room.

And there, asleep on a cushion, was Chris. Leon was about to rush over when he saw the only other occupant of the room.

D.

"Hello Detective. You're just in time for tea."

**Right... slight confession time. When I first read the Alichino manga, I assumed that they were a part of Japanese mythology. They're not. However, they're mentioned in Dante's poem on The Inferno as a type of demon. Everything else is either inspired by the manga or artistic license. Sorry guys...**

**Ok, I'll try my best to get the next chapter up ASAP. Thanks to everyone who had kept with this!**


End file.
